Artificial fuel and process of making the same



NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM GRIFFITH, OF PITTSTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

ARTIFICIAL FUEL AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 308,154, dated November 18, 1884.

Application filed J annary 26, 1884. (Specimena) To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WM. GRIFFITH, of Pittston, in the county of Luzerne and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Artificial Fuel and Process of Making Artificial Fuel; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the :invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in artificial fuel and the process of making fuel.

Hitherto in the attempts which have been made to utilize the dust of anthracite coal for fuel a coal-tar pitch, or one or more resinous substances, have been combined with the antracite-coal dust, or with a mixture of anthracite and bituminous coal dust, and in many instances have been employed to complete the process. These attempts, as a matter of econo my, have been attended with but little success, on account of the labor and'expense of manufacture, taken in connection with the heating qualities of the product. I

The object of my present invention is to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive process of combining the dust of anthracite coal with the dust or slack of bituminous coal, and forming thereby a fuel which shall possess heating qualities equal or superior to the best grades of anthracite coal.

\Vith these ends in view my invention con sists in the process of combining the dust of anthracite coal with the dust or slack of bituminous coal, by first mixing the dusts of the two named coals in their natural states, and secondly, submitting the mixture to a coking or distilling process. I have not yet definitely settled upon the proportions in which the two dusts should be mixed to produce the best results. I find, however, that the proportion of one-half of each, by weight, will produce 'a compound highly satisfactory and equal in heating qualities to the best coal.

During the process of coking, either the common process by open pit or oven, or by distilling in a retort, the bituminous dust or slack gives up its gases, while the anthracite dust suffers little or no change. The product of this process is a porous mass having a specific gravity somewhat less than that of anthracite coal, depending upon the relative proportions of ,the dusts, in which mass the anthracite dust is held suspended more or less uniformly throughout the bituminous coke.

In describing my process Ihave spoken only of the dust of anthracite coal, by which term I intend to include the waste or culm arising from the breaking or preparing coal at the mines and from screenings or handling coal at shipping points or yards. It will thus be seen that I am able to utilize a vast amount of material which is at present esteemed of but little use.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim 'as new, and desireto secure by'Letters Patent, is

As a new article of manufacture, an artificial fuel composed of the dust or culm of anthracite and the dust or slack of bituminous coal, combined substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WM. GRIFFITH.

Witnesses:

E. O. SEWARD, E. I. NOTTINGHAM. 

